A karyotype analysis of five wild rose species (Rosa helenae, R. mulliganii, R. multiflora, R. rubus, and R. solieana) was performed using bicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). All five species were found to be diploid (2n = 2x = 14). The chromosome length in the metaphase stage ranged from 1.29 to 2.05 μm in R. helenae, 3.32 to 6.82 μm in R. mulliganii, 1.58 to 2.24 μm in R. multiflora, 2.05 to 3.46 μm in R. rubus, and 1.62 to 2.46 μm in R. solieana. The chromosomes were either metacentric or submetacentric, with no subtelocentric or telocentric chromosomes being observed. Each p air of 5 S and 4 5S rDNA sites was detected at the proximal region of the long arm and the terminal region of the short arm of chromosome #7, respectively.

A new Hibiscus cultivar ‘Tohagol Red’ with unique flower shape and color, uniform growth habit and hardiness was developed through interspecific hybridization between Hibiscus sinosyriacus and H. syriacus. A new cultivar 'Tohagol Red' (Hibiscus × ‘Tohagol Red’) developed after crossing between Hibiscus sinosyriacus ‘Seobong’ ( ♀) with pink flower and Hibiscus syriacus ‘Samchully’ with pink flower to improve flower quality and growth habit in 2002. Hibiscus ‘Tohagol Red’ was preliminarily selected as ‘R 202’ in 2004 for its stable flower quality with rich pink flower and ruffled petals. This cultivar had violet purple, ruffled flowers accented by an intense red eye. Large and showy, the overlapping flower petals formed a complete circle and then named ‘Tohagol Red’ in 2010. The tree showed medium growth habit with slightly upright branch. The selected line was further evaluated for different growth characteristics, leaf shape, leaf size, flowering characteristics, and tested for distinctness, homogeneity, and stability during 2004-2009. In The flowers are medium in size (11 ~ 13 cm) with fan (II-type) petal having width 9.2 cm. Leaves are 7.2 cm long and 5.4 cm wide. After the plant characteristics evaluation for 6 years (2004 ~ 2009), it was registered as a cultivar ‘Tohagol Red’ (3803, No. of plant variety protection rights) in 2011. ‘Tohagol Red’ having violet-purple flower and red eye with ruffled petals is an excellent garden plant.

The objective of this study was to develop PCR primers that are specific for Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus parasanguinis, and Streptococcus gordonii. We designed the S. sanguinis-, S. parasanguinis-, and S. gordonii- specific primers, Ssa21-F3/Ssa21-R2, Spa17-F/Spa17-R, and Sgo41-F1/Sgo41-R1 respectively, based on the nucleotide sequences of the Ssa21, Spa17, and Sgo41 DNA probes that were screened using inverted dot blot hybridization (IDBH). The species-specificity of these primers was as- sessed against 43 strains of mitis group streptococci, in- cluding clinical strains of S. sanguinis, S. parasanguinis, and S. gordonii. The resulting PCR data revealed that species-specific amplicons had been obtained from all strains of the target species tested, and that none of these amp- licons occurred in any other strains from other species. These results suggest that the Ssa21-F3/Ssa21-R2, Spa17- F/Spa17-R, and Sgo41-F1/Sgo41-R1 primers may be useful in detecting S. sanguinis, S. parasanguinis, and S. gordonii at the species level, respectively.

Genome sequencing researches for considerable numbers of crops and wild plants are being developed. Cytogenetic researches according to chromosome number and size are essential to confirm and comprehend ploidy level and genome size before genome sequencing project is actually conducted. Cytogenetic researches on six food crop plants were carried out by DAPI staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method. Fagopyrum esculentum Moench showed 2n=2x=16, each chromosome length of 1.42㎛ to 1.77㎛, total chromosome length of 13.31㎛, and karyotypic formula of 2n=8m; Phaseolus angularis W.F. Wight, 2n=2x=22, 2.01㎛ to 3.84㎛, total 28.03㎛, 2n=9m+2sm, Perilla frutescens var. japonica Hara, 2n=2x=40, 1.73㎛ to 2.76㎛, total 44.36㎛, 2n=5m+13sm+2st. Chromosome sizes of the other three species such as, Panicum miliaceum L., 2n=2x=36, total chromosome length of 30.83㎛, Sesamum indicum L., 2n=2x=26, 27.39㎛, lpomoea batatas L., 2n=2x=30, total 33.51㎛ were too small for each chromosome type to be identified and analyzed. The result of FISH analysis using 5S and 45S rDNA probe showed species-specific chromosome locations in the genome. These preliminary analyses were carried out to decide which food crop to prioritize for genome sequencing. This work was supported by the “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (No.PJ009837), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.